Back in the Bakumatsu
by openwindow4
Summary: A science fair project goes awry and the Kenshin-gumi are sucked back one by one to the Bakumatsu era. My oh my, between crashing secret Shinsengumi meetings and accidentally knocking out a Kenshin lookalike, what's punk-rock princess Kaoru to do?


"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaawwww FUCK

Disclaimer: I dun own rk…….tear

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaawwww FUCK!" Kaoru Kamiya said, as she walked into Tokyo's MHS (Meiji High School), one of the wealthiest, most prestigious, best academic, and incredibly influential schools in Japan, located in Tokyo. This was the kind of school most political leaders sent their children to. This was the kind of school Nobel Peace prize winners went to. This was the school famous for its' MAD program (music, art, drama). This was the kind of school one did _not_ see Kaoru Kamiya at.

Kaoru Kamiya: age 16, sophomore at MHS, Tokyo's 'kenjutsu princess', only daughter to Koshijirou Kamiya (head scientist for the Japanese intelligence, leader of many protection programs for the Japanese, and generally one of the most influential men in the country), and queen of punk rock. Nope, not your average girl at all.

Kaoru sprinted through the hallways, shiny black hair up in a high ponytail, dressed in a plain, white tee with a black heart on it, a pair of old worn jeans, and battered tennis shoes, dark-blue backpack flapping behind her, and looking like she had just gotten up 3 minutes ago.

Which she had.

She skidded to a stop in front of room 6-A to catch her breath. As she reached for the doorknob, the bell rang.

"SHIT!" Kaoru cursed. She sighed again and opened the door to walk into the classroom and faced the other uniformly clad students.

"Aahhhhhh, so Miss Kamiya, you finally decided to join us? Go take your seat, and detention for your tardiness and overall disregard for the dress code. One would think that after all this time, even a brat of your intelligence would learn to set an alarm clock." the teacher said. Saitoh Hajime. His amber-yellow slitted eyes glared at her. Saitoh Hajime was one of the most annoying, pissy, insufferable assholes in the world. Kaoru pasted a bright smile on her face just to piss Saitoh off even more.

"Hey Saitoh-sensei! Wow, I already have detention? Jeez, is that my record? What're we gonna do in detention today? Something fun? Like taking pictures of your face to scare little kids with?" Kaoru asked with gusto. Saitoh glared at her. This was pretty much their daily ritual, Kaoru would come in late (sometimes just as the bell rang, but would still be counted as "tardy" because Saitoh was anal retentive), Saitoh would bait her, and Kaoru would piss him off.

In fact, Kaoru did that to pretty much all the teachers (except her visual arts and music teacher). Most of Kaoru's teachers were extremely pissed off at Kaoru, as she had the potential to be the best student in the school, but never pushed herself (except in the arts). They teachers said Kaoru was lazy, but she preferred to think of herself as "non-ambitious".

Kaoru went and took her seat left of her partner in crime and best friend since kindergarten, Himura Kenshin (Japanese Kendo Champion and voted "most likely to become famous"). Right of her sat her other friend and the human hurricane, Makimachi Misao. In front of her sat Takani Megumi, resident bitch and science queen. She was also Kaoru's friend and Sagara Sanosuke's long-time girlfriend. Sagara Sanosuke: Kaoru's "big brother" figure ever since he stood up for her in 2nd grade because she was getting in trouble with Chou (or "broomhead", whichever you prefer), who was pulling her hair….until Kaoru punched Chou. Behind Kaoru sat Shinomori Aoshi, the school's local asshole. He was cold, unfriendly, arrogant, and cruel. He was also Makimachi Misao's longtime love interest. Poor Aoshi…

For a long time, many thought that Aoshi and Megumi would get together, until Sanosuke and Megumi began dating (Kaoru: what the HELL?? Kenshin: When did this happen?! Misao: Uuummmmm…Megumi? Are you sure you're not drugged or high on that preservative stuff they put Kermit in? You know, the dissecting stuff? I think it's called formaldehyde. Hmmm…come to think of it, it sorta smells like Okina-ojii-san's room…). On the other side of Misao sat the always smiling, o-so-loveable Seta Soujirou. On Kenshin's left sat Makoto Shishio (a pyromaniac who always seemed to have something broken or bandaged up) and Yumi Komagata (his goth girlfriend), both of whom were Kenshin and Kaoru's rival in battle-of-the-band contests, prank-pulling, and friends since 5th grade.

"Shut up, you hyperactive morons, and sit your asses down." Saitoh began, "Today, we will begin working on science projects, which you will _all_ submit for a grade, for the National High School Science Exhibition. Keep in mind that this will not only be your final exam and will thus be worth forty-five percent of your grade, but many of the judges are prominent research scientists with government sponsorships who will be looking for future students, and it would be in the school's best interest to impress them. For further information, see the worksheet I am handing out to you." Saitoh began passing the papers back.

"What took you so long?" Kenshin whispered to Kaoru.

"Uh…I sorta slept through my alarm clock again…" she sheepishly replied. Kenshin rolled his eyes and passed one of the science fair flyers back.

"You know, we still need to talk about how we're gonna con your dad to fund our band. I know all this stuff about 'working hard will build your character' but seriously, I think if we get the money to buy that new mic set and revamp a couple of guitars, we could really win that nation talent show thing -"

"Himura shut up. I'm reading off your project partners now, so listen up", Saitoh interrupted.

"Himura and Soujiro, Kamiya and Makimachi, Shishio and Sagara…"

Kaoru turned to Misao and grinned. "Sweet! We're lab partners!" Misao smiled widely, fiddled with her pen and started tapping her feet – a sure sign that she was happy.

"I've got you're new song stuck in my head – 'Raining Blood' it's such an addicting song!" Misao replied. "So I'm thinking that our project could do something with you music, like how it affects….I dunno, something. But not plants. That's cliché and plus, everything green that I touch turns brown and dies…" Karoru and Misao continued to whisper.

"…and finally, Shinomori and Takani. Now split up and begin the Planning A and Planning B process of your report. And don't bother me till after lunch." Aoshi and Megumi eyed each other, as if sizing the other up silently. Surprisingly, Aoshi was the first to speak.

"I already have a running project that I hope to enter into the competition. If you are willing to assist me, I would be inclined to share the credit."

Megumi bristled. "Ho! You think I'm going to assist you? Heck no buddy, I want all your notes. I'm nobody's assistant, let's get that straight right now! If we're going to be partners, we work on equal ground, got it? Respect is a two-lane street, and if you don't -"

"What, you'll sic you're boyfriend on me?" Aoshi coolly answered back. Sano cracked his knuckles almost absentmindedly.

"If it comes to that, yeah."

"Aoshi-sama, chill! Megumi's just trying to say don't be mean to her, k? So yeah, guess what Aoshi's working on, Megumi? It's really cool!" Misao quickly intervened, diffusing what could have been an intense shouting match.

"So, what're you working on?" Megumi asked curiously.

"I currently am focusing on breaking the flow of the chrono-spatial continuum in an attempt to redirect the energy into the control of human will."

Kenshin looked blankly at Aoshi. "What the fu-"

"He's building a time machine." Megumi translated, awe coloring her tone.


End file.
